Prenatal exposure to parabens and anthropometric birth outcomes: A systematic review

• Published in: Environmental research 2019-06, Vol.173, p.419-431
• Main Authors: Jamal, Akram, Rastkari, Noushin, Dehghaniathar, Reza, Aghaei, Mina, Nodehi, Ramin Nabizadeh, Nasseri, Simin, Kashani, Homa, Yunesian, Masud
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anthropometric measures; Birth outcomes; Female; Humans; Maternal Exposure - statistics & numerical data; Parabens; Parturition; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Preservatives, Pharmaceutical; Systematic review
• ISSN: 0013-9351; 1096-0953
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2019.02.044

Parabens are ubiquitous substances commonly used as preservatives because of their antibacterial activity. The estrogenic activity of parabens may cause undesirable health effects and adverse birth outcomes. The objective of the present systematic review was to investigate the association between prenatal exposure to parabens and anthropometric birth outcomes. PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase databases were systematically searched until April 18, 2018. Of 326 records that remained after removing duplicates, 6 original articles were included in the final analysis after excluding irrelevant articles. The included studies indicated that most of the pregnant mothers were exposed to parabens, especially methyl and propyl parabens. However, no definitive association was found between the prenatal urinary concentration of parabens and birth weight or head circumference. In addition, a positive but non-significant association was detected between birth length and maternal exposure to parabens. The present systematic review revealed that assessment of significant associations in current epidemiological studies is impermissible due to methodological limitations and absence of inter-study consistency. Furthermore, because of the complexity of the effect of environmental factors on health, future large-scale studies with proper study design are required to investigate the effect of parabens exposure on birth outcomes. •Parabens are ubiquitous substances and interfere with the function of the endocrine system.•Parabens were detected in the majority of maternal urine samples in the numerous studies.•Associations between prenatal exposure to parabens and anthropometric measures at birth were systematically reviewed.•Well-designed cohort studies are needed to elucidate the associations between parabens exposure and birth outcomes.